The invention relates to an oil sump for an internal combustion engine, in particular for a diesel engine of a hauler or tractor. Furthermore, the invention relates to a correspondingly adapted axle carrier for the mechanical connection to the oil sump.
Conventional haulers often have a load-bearing oil sump 1, as shown in FIG. 8. On its upper side, the oil sump 1 is connected via a flange face 2 to an internal combustion engine 3, the latter as a rule being a diesel engine. In turn, the internal combustion engine 3 is connected via a flange face 4 to a flywheel housing 5. The flywheel housing 5 is then connected via a further flange face 6 to a transmission 7. On its front side, the oil sump 1 has a further flange face 8 which is connected via screws 9 to a correspondingly adapted flange face 10 of a front axle carrier 11. The front axle carrier 11 comprises firstly a seat 12 for a front axle and secondly a seat 13 for a steering cylinder, the seat 13 for the steering cylinder being arranged in front of the seat 12 for the front axle in the driving direction. This known construction for the load-bearing oil sump 1 has various disadvantages which will be explained briefly in the following text.
Firstly, the vertically oriented flange faces 8, 10 of the oil sump 1 and the front axle carrier 11 are relatively small, with the result that the flange faces 8, 10 can receive only relatively small screws 9 or too few screws 9.
Secondly, the flange faces 8, 10 protrude laterally from the oil sump 1 and from the front axle carrier 11, which leads to a lateral constriction, as a result of which the mechanical load-bearing capability of the flange connection is reduced further.
A further disadvantage of this known construction consists in that the seat 13 for the steering cylinder is arranged in front of the front axle. As a consequence, the steering cylinder is subjected during operation to abrasive wear, for example as a result of plant stubble of sunflowers striking it when the oil sump is arranged in a tractor. In this known construction, however, the seat 13 of the steering cylinder cannot be arranged in a protected manner behind the seat 12 for the front axle, since there is no space there.